Yang Yang's Heartbeat

As the convoy moved forward, Li Ming and the others gradually left the city behind. The road grew increasingly desolate, with cold and empty scenery stretching in all directions.

Li Ming glanced at the navigation—at their current speed, they would arrive before nightfall.

Yang Yang sat in the passenger seat, leaning against the window as she gazed at the view outside. She couldn’t help but sigh.

"Every time we pass through here, I’m reminded how much worse your Black Mountain Prison is compared to our Qingcheng Prison. It’s practically deep mountains and wild forests—utter wilderness. Even if a prisoner managed to escape, I doubt they’d survive long enough to reach civilization. It’s just too barren."

"It’s not so bad," Li Ming replied, one hand on the steering wheel as his eyes drifted toward the distant, desolate woods. "Prisons have to be built in remote places. And ours houses serious offenders—we have to be extra cautious."

"Boring. Staying in one place for too long dulls the mind! Not to mention, the risk of depression skyrockets. Definitely not my thing!" Yang Yang rolled up the window and reclined her seat, settling in more comfortably.

Li Ming chuckled. "By that logic, wouldn’t all the prisoners in jail be depressed?"

"Oh-ho! You’ve got a point there. But they don’t have a choice—we do!" Yang Yang turned slightly, her eyes lingering on Li Ming in his sharp uniform, looking undeniably handsome. A sudden flutter of attraction stirred in her chest…

She stole a glance at Wang Keyan, fast asleep in the back seat, curled up with her back turned toward Yang Yang, her body rising and falling gently with each breath.

After watching for a moment to confirm Wang Keyan was still deep in slumber, Yang Yang flashed a small smile at Li Ming…

"Hey—what are you doing? I’m driving here!"

Li Ming was both startled and nervous, silently impressed by her boldness. After all, not only was there someone in the back seat, but their vehicle was also being followed by others in the convoy!

"Keyan’s sound asleep. Just focus on the road—it’s rough enough without you swerving us into a ditch." Yang Yang ignored his protests.

Li Ming stole another guilty glance in the rearview mirror. Wang Keyan remained undisturbed, so he gave up and concentrated on driving.

He accelerated, and the convoy behind them followed suit, matching his speed.

Time passed…

Eventually, Li Ming rubbed his face, forcing himself to stay alert, and gradually slowed down again.

Thankfully, no one in the trailing vehicles seemed to notice anything unusual, and Wang Keyan inside the car remained asleep. Li Ming exhaled in relief, finally relaxing.

"We can’t do that again. Too risky," he muttered to Yang Yang, still shaken.

"Next time… who knows when the next time will be? Warden Li, you should focus on living in the moment!" Yang Yang shot him a satisfied look before leaning back and closing her eyes for a pretend nap.

The convoy pressed on. Still uneasy about what Yang Yang had just done, Li Ming slowly pulled over to the side of the road.

He stepped out and checked each of the three prisoner transport vehicles behind them, opening the doors one by one to inspect the inmates. Satisfied that everything was in order, he finally relaxed and resumed the journey.

Yang Yang watched his antics, barely suppressing her laughter.

"Hahaha, you really think everyone’s like you? They wouldn’t dare! If a prison guard laid a hand on an inmate, they’d be looking at jail time themselves! At most, they might sneak a few extra glances at the pretty ones—but that’s as far as it goes."

"Ahem! Just being cautious," Li Ming replied, his face flushing slightly. "This is my first prisoner transfer—I can’t afford any slip-ups. If I can’t handle something this basic, what kind of warden would I be?"

He thought of what Wang Xin, Wang Keyan’s mother, had done to him and quickly added an awkward explanation.

Yang Yang, however, assumed his reaction was just due to their earlier recklessness and didn’t dwell on it. The two continued chatting idly as the convoy drew closer to Black Mountain Prison.

Finally…

After navigating through dense woods and bumpy roads, they reached their destination.

Black Mountain Women’s Prison!

The convoy was stopped by the female guards on duty, and Li Ming and the others stepped out of their vehicles.

Recognizing Li Ming, the guards saluted.

"Warden! Welcome back!"

"Warden, Deputy Warden Lin will be here shortly."

"Mm. The prisoners being transferred are in the vehicles. Here’s the list and their files—check them, verify identities and headcount, then let the convoy through," Li Ming instructed calmly.

"Understood, Warden. Leave it to us. You’ve had a long journey—please go ahead and rest."

The guard took the files and saluted again.